Metro’s board of directors has faced intense scrutiny in recent months, with two groups calling for major restructuring of how the 14-person board runs the transit agency. But the makeup of the board is likely to shift dramatically in the next two months, changing some of the key faces and roles well before any major reforms can be enacted.
The election of Rushern Baker as county executive in Prince George’s County and Vincent Gray as the District’s mayor could prompt the nameplates to change for those jurisdictions’ seats.
Meanwhile, the one-year chairmanship is supposed to switch at the end of January, with Maryland member Peter Benjamin ceding to Virginia representative and Fairfax County Supervisor Cathy Hudgins.
The biggest changes will likely be among the District’s representatives. All four seats could change under the leadership of Gray and incoming Council Chairman Kwame Brown.
D.C. City Administrator Neil Albert, an appointee of current Mayor Adrian Fenty, almost certainly will be leaving the board as he leaves his city job.
Michael Brown, an at-large D.C. councilman, came under fire earlier this year after an investigation by The Washington Examiner found he had the worst attendance record on the Metro board. The analysis of meeting minutes showed he missed 66 percent of 79 committee and board meetings since he was appointed last year.
Anthony Giancola, an engineer who serves as an alternate, was appointed during the Fenty administration and could lose his spot.
Meanwhile, Councilman Jim Graham, who has the second-longest tenure among Metro directors, became the public face of the agency during its worst year when he was chairman amid the June 2009 Red Line crash. Kwame Brown, who will make the appointment, served on a task force that has been critical of the board’s leadership in the wake of the crash and other safety problems.
Graham, who represents Ward 1 on the council, said he would serve if asked to continue in the role.
“I want to do the best thing by the system, by the region and by the city,” he said. “I think there’s a great advantage to seniority and experience, but it’s not my decision to make.”
In Prince George’s County, Marcell Solomon had been County Executive Jack Johnson’s appointee since 2003. He missed more than half of all board meetings in 18 months, according to the Examiner analysis, yet earned $39,656.90 for his service in 2009, the most of any board member.
Scott Peterson, a spokesman for the new county executive, said the transition team will review all appointments but had not made any decisions about the Metro seat during Baker’s first week in office.
